Employment trends may look different across big cities and rural areas in Alberta, but the city of Red Deer’s strengths lie in their tight knit community. Door to door visits and cold calling are welcomed when searching for job placements for a person with a disability. MCG Careers prides itself in its “Growth 4 U” program that provides a service for a person with high barriers who has been out of the workforce for an extended period of time. As long as a person is ready, willing and able there is a high chance of finding employment in Red Deer.
Being ready, willing and able is a term used across the employment service provider industry, but what does it actually mean? Readiness encompasses a person’s basic needs being met, such as housing or food. During an initial assessment, an MCG employee may refer to another service provider during the “Growth 4 U” program if they find that a person does not have these basic needs met. Once these needs are met, the preparation and search for employment begins.
Audra Fuerbringer, Red Deer’s regional manager, has worked at MCG Careers for 14 years. She speaks confidently on the successes of the employment programs and applauds the Red Deer community for their work in inclusive employment within a city with a 6.9% rate of unemployment. The client driven approach ensures proper program placement and invites MCG to connect with other service providers in the area for support. If participants are placed in “Growth 4 U”, MCG accompanies them to the job on a weekly basis for 8 weeks. For up to 6 months after job placement, there is monthly follow up with the employer that drops down to follow ups based on need. The participant is always provided with a strategy for finding a job, along with confidence building activities that may help them find their footing in returning to the workforce. These participants tend to have higher physical and mental barriers and if a job placement is not found in 6 months, MCG will reassess strategy based on the person’s needs.
Employers in Red Deer
Working with employers in Red Deer tends to be a simpler process than in Calgary or Edmonton. Fuerbringer touches on the small business and family owned business communities that keep their doors open to walk-ins and conversations about inclusive employment with service providers. The ratio of employers that know about inclusive employment is 50/50 but when a connection is pursued through simple conversation, the employer is usually able to relate to disability either through their personal life, or a family or friend’s experiences. Disability is not an unknown topic to employers but further education on the topic may need to be pursued. MCG offers this education for employers through the Priority Employer Program (PEP) program. The employers are very open to building awareness but it may take them months or years to begin hiring people with disabilities. MCG makes sure to keep in touch with employers to meet them where they’re at and have the opportunity to jump in when they are ready to hire. Fuerbringer has found that through conversation employers often find an opportunity to job carve for a particular person, even if they originally did not have a role open. Job carving gives a person with a disability the opportunity to secure employment that is based on their passions and accessibility needs.
To stay on top of their programs and services, MCG meets with the Private Career Development Contractors (PCDC) association of Alberta and Government of Alberta representatives on a regular basis. In these meetings they can discuss challenges and assess how to remain client driven as they aim for successes measured by numbers. The Red Deer Chamber of Commerce is very active in the city and MCG often attends events and meetings to remain in touch with the city trends and happenings.
Advice for larger cities
When speaking on the benefits of having strong service provider connections in her direct community, Fuerbringer shares that the promotion and marketing from service providers of employment services brings the topic of inclusive employment to the forefront. Within her work in programs that spread across the province, she noticed that the promotion for service providers in Calgary and Edmonton could be stronger. Employers have often never heard of the term “service provider”, and even though they are aware of disability, their knowledge ends at the definition of the word. Calgary and Edmonton would benefit from stronger promotion of employment services because they are larger cities with services and resources aplenty. In asking her what is lacking in Red Deer, she touches on the excitement of the 2024 DEAM IDEA Conference that will be held in Red Deer. The small city is lacking in disability centered capacity building or awareness focused events. Whether an employer, job seeker or service provider wants to attend an event, they have to travel to Calgary or Edmonton which may be out of budget and is a bigger time commitment. In attendance at the 2023 DEAM IDEA Conference, an MCG employee found great value in the speaking topics and learnings because she had not been able to attend many conferences while residing in Red Deer.
AEFN is looking forward to bringing more disability centered learning opportunities to Red Deer. This tight knit community is a good example of authentic inclusive employment and the 80% employment rate of participants at MCG Careers showcases the benefit of having programs that function on a person-centered approach.
Author : Mariebelle Sawma
